Contrarian Glaciers
Summary
In Nebraska, Twyla Hansen invites us to “Walk on the Prairie” and her short, sharp poem offers many hooks to the writer, but previous inspiration draws me to the contemplation of glaciers with this one phrase: “Hypothesize the dance of millenia”
There is nothing like the works of nature to make wo-man feel small from ocean to prairie, but the presumption of glaciers is comforting as they dwarf us in every known dimension. There are things that we take to be true of glaciers, but we can never be certain. Our puny size, our brief lives, and limited capacity can never fully grasp the immensity of the glacier.
And yet I find comfort in the knowledge that glaciers are as contrarian as any woman, growing and moving over decades under the influence of our own gravity, and yet sensitive to the climate that envelops us, our fates forever entwined.
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The Nebraska Writing Project in Lincoln hosts the second stop in the 2023 Write Across America Marathon.